Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The Independent - UK RSS Feed

The Independent - UK RSS Feed

Cable: The man who declared war on Murdoch... and lost

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

Vince Cable was dealt a humiliating blow yesterday after an astonishing attack on Rupert Murdoch backfired. The Business Secretary managed to cling on to his job but has been stripped of the power to rule on Mr Murdoch's bid for full control of BSkyB.

Judge criticises 'hastily drafted' BAE plea deal

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

A judge yesterday attacked the plea bargain between BAE Systems and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), concluding a six-year corruption investigation, as "loosely and perhaps hastily drafted".

£200m cancer fund 'will do nothing'

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

The Government's £200m cancer drugs fund will not significantly improve survival rates from the disease, according to Britain's cancer tsar.

PM hints at Lib Dem election pact

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

David Cameron left the door open yesterday for an anti-Labour electoral pact between the Conservative and Liberal Democrats at the next general election.

Heathrow nightmare just gets worse and worse

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

Another 100,000 passengers contemplated Christmases ruined and holidays wrecked by the partial closure of Heathrow, as snow and ice kept its second, southerly runway closed until 5.30pm yesterday. It brings the number of travellers to and from the airport with journeys disrupted by the airport's inability to deal with extreme weather to 600,000. Many of those camped out at the hub of world aviation will be obliged to spend Christmas in the unholy transience of an airport terminal.

Christina Patterson: How a prophet of protest lost the moral plot

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

I probably shouldn't have laughed, but I'm afraid I did. It was the moment when he said that women had been "extremely helpful and generous". Being "helpful and generous" in WikiWorld meant, it soon became clear, a range of supportive activities, from the secretarial to the – well, I'm far too much of a lady to spell it out.

Sentenced to life, the crossbow killer who ate his victims

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

Stephen Griffiths had long been aware of his compulsion to kill. It was a revelation that he shared with the psychiatrists he saw regularly since his teenage years. The former public school boy even told one probation officer that his murder career would begin "in his early 30s". In the end he waited until shortly before his 40th birthday to indulge his fantasies of control and power over terrified women.

Three face charges for Catholic murder

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

Three people are to be charged in connection with the sectarian murder of Robert Hamill, a Catholic who was beaten to death by a Loyalist mob in 1997.

No charges will be brought over shooting of London lawyer

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

Police marksmen who shot death barrister Mark Saunders will not face charges, the Crown Prosecution Service announced yesterday after reviewing the case.

Earthquake shakes homes in Cumbria

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

Cumbria was shaken by a 20-second earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale last night with an epicentre at Coniston. It is the sixth earthquake to have taken place within a 31-mile radius in the last 40 years.

Coalition strained as more Lib Dems voice criticisms

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

Three Liberal Democrat ministers have criticised the Government's decision to cut child benefit and lifted the lid on tensions between them and their Conservative Coalition partners.

Hundreds stranded as railways seize up too

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

Hundreds of passengers had to be led to safety from stricken trains yesterday as again travellers faced the prospect of delays and cancellations.

Coming soon to a bookshop near you: Assange in his own words

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains a hot property, irrespective of any damage yesterday's Radio 4 interview may have done to his image.

Hunt's praise for Murdoch comes back to haunt him

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation will have been reassured by the rapid decision to switch responsibility for their proposed takeover of BSkyB from Vince Cable to Jeremy Hunt.

Humiliation for 'Saint Vince' as he loses his halo

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

There were a lot of things Vince Cable could have got away with, but bragging that he had declared war on Rupert Murdoch was not one of them. That is not because Mr Murdoch is the country's biggest media baron, but because Mr Cable was supposed to be representing the national interest as the arbiter of Mr Murdoch's formal bid to be the sole owner of BSkyB.

Cable stripped of powers on BSkyB takeover

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 09:57 AM PST

Business Secretary Vince Cable will play no further part in the decision on News Corporation's proposed takeover bid of BSkyB following indiscreet comments about Rupert Murdoch, Prime Minister David Cameron has ruled.

PM 'frustrated' by Heathrow disruption

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 09:04 AM PST

Prime Minister David Cameron said today he was "frustrated" by the continued disruption at Heathrow as the Government offered military support to help clear the snow.

'Crossbow cannibal' to die in jail

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 08:00 AM PST

A postgraduate student who killed, dismembered and ate parts of three prostitutes was told today he will die in jail.

Lifer loses claim over lack of exercise

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 07:56 AM PST

A lifer who sued for up to £50,000 damages over a lack of exercise while in segregation has lost his High Court action.

Nick Clegg: 'Vince Cable is right to be embarrassed'

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 07:07 AM PST

Vince Cable is "right to be embarrassed" after he made private remarks in which he threatened to bring the Government down by resigning, Nick Clegg said today.

Government offers military assistance to BAA

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 06:27 AM PST

The Government has offered military assistance to the airport operator BAA amid continuing disruption at Heathrow, David Cameron said today.

Car dealer faces jail for duping footballer John Carew

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 06:25 AM PST

A car dealer who duped Premier League footballer John Carew was remanded in custody today after being found guilty of fraud and theft.

My life is at stake, Tommy Sheridan tells jury

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 06:18 AM PST

Former Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) MSP Tommy Sheridan today pleaded with a jury to acquit him of perjury, telling them his life was at stake.

Government under pressure over record borrowing

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 06:10 AM PST

New figures heaped more pressure on the Government's borrowing targets today after Britain slumped into the red by a record £23.3 billion in November.

Zara Phillips to wed boyfriend

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 06:08 AM PST

The Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips has got engaged to long-term boyfriend and England rugby player Mike Tindall, Buckingham Palace announced today.

Gay marriage ban challenge delayed

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:56 AM PST

A plan to test the UK's ban on gay marriages and heterosexual civil partnerships has been stalled by a local government council incorrectly replying to one of eight English couples set on arguing the twin bans are unlawful and should be reversed.

BA crews voting over new industrial action

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:32 AM PST

British Airways cabin crew started voting today on whether to take fresh industrial action in their long-running dispute with the airline.

Police 'alerted protesting mob to royal car'

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 04:28 AM PST

Police outriders alerted a mob to a royal car by honking their horns and riding "aggressively" towards them, an eyewitness said today.

Inquiry into Network Rail funds 'misuse'

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 01:59 AM PST

An independent inquiry into the alleged misuse of public funds by senior executives at Network Rail (NR) will begin in the New Year, it was learned today.

Iraqis lose bid for torture claims inquiry

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 01:45 AM PST

A group of Iraqi civilians today lost their High Court bid for a fresh public inquiry into allegations of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment by British soldiers and interrogators in Iraq.

Jobs fund axe 'will leave support gap'

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 12:01 AM PST

The Government was today warned that its decision to end a jobs fund a year early will lead to unemployed young people facing a potential gap in the support available to help them find work.

Mother 'killed children in murder-suicide'

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 12:01 AM PST

A woman is believed to have killed two of her children before taking her own life.

Simon Calder: So this is Christmas

Posted: 20 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST

National embarrassment deepened to abject humiliation last night as more than half a million Christmas travellers remained stranded in the UK. Major arterial roads and the Channel Rail Link ground to a standstill, unable to cope with drifting snow, black ice and "refugees" from Heathrow.

posted by Greg Shaw at Wednesday, December 22, 2010